Posts Tagged ‘carpet installation’

Like any other craft, carpet installers’ skills vary widely. Installers learn their craft by starting as apprentices with a crew. An apprentice might only take up the old carpet and carry tools at first, but slowly learns by watching the others perform their jobs. In this way, the apprentice learns to become an installer.

But hold on! What if the apprentice learns bad installation techniques?

The apprentice doesn’t know any difference between bad and good installations. I have seen apprentices learn from installers who have been doing things the wrong way for thirty years. How do you know that the crew who shows up to install your carpet (after you worked so hard to haul out the furniture!) knows what they’re doing? How do you know that the head of your installation crew wasn’t yesterday’s apprentice? (Note: A lot of retailers hire the lowest bidder and don’t even bother to check the finished job — until there’s a complaint!)

You may not realize it, but the inside of your home has its own “microclimate”. Whether it’s hot and muggy or cold and dry, the “weather” in your home affects how you feel. It also affects how your floors “feel”, too.

Flooring materials like ceramic tile or vinyl don’t care much about atmospheric changes inside your home. But carpet and wood-based flooring (solid wood, engineered wood, bamboo, cork, or laminate) physically change as temperatures and humidity inside your home vary. These materials will grow or shrink as the “weather” inside your home changes.

Before installation, carpet and wood-based flooring must be acclimated to normal living conditions in your home. Flooring manufacturers require that, before installation, their materials adjust to whatever are “normal” living conditions in your home. The acclimation period varies with the type of flooring you are installing.

Most carpet today is completely synthetic. The face fibers, carpet backings, and (more…)

Carpet padding (sometimes referred to as “underlayment”) is the material that’s placed between the carpet and the floor during installation. And, it’s not something that should be a mere afterthought to carpet buyers — buying a quality carpet pad can greatly extend the life of your carpet.

Additionally, according to the Carpet Cushion Council, purchasing a separate carpet cushion offers the following advantages to carpet installations: (more…)

Installing carpet correctly is not an easy job. There is more to it than “fuzzy side up”! An installer can spend years learning about the finer points of his (or her) craft. One key point that is frequently skipped completely is carpet seaming. “What is that?” you might ask.

Carpet is a fabric that is cut off a long roll and then cut again as needed to fit a room or rooms. Unless the rooms are slightly smaller than width of the carpet, the pieces must be seamed (joined) together into larger pieces to fit the rooms to be carpeted. (more…)

Carpet buckling occurs when a carpet loses its stretch and wrinkles develop. It can happen because of poor latexing, improper stretching, a soft pad, excess humidity, improper cleaning, or rolling furniture or equipment. Puckers around doorways and wrinkles in the traffic areas are sure signs of buckling.

Poor Latexing

Just as poor latexing leads to weak tuft bind, it can cause a carpet to lose its stretch. Brittle, powdery, or thin latex will make a carpet too flexible and make it impossible to lay tight. If the latex application is not strong enough to bind the primary and secondary backings together, the carpet delaminates. Air gets trapped between the two layers and you’ll see bubbles and buckles. When this happens along a seam, the seam opens up. You can stick your fingers between the two backings. When it happens in the center of the room, the carpet will bunch up when you vacuum. You can easily lift the carpet several inches from the floor. (more…)

As everyone knows, there is a lot to talk about when it comes to carpeting: usage, fibers, styles, patterns, etc.

Carpeting is used everywhere we live and work. You’ll find it in most homes, from the most basic cottage to glamorous homes regularly used to entertain many guests. You also see carpet throughout high-rise office buildings, convention centers, airports, and other large commercial installations. This article will focus on residential carpeting. Commercial applications are a separate story.

Carpeting brings quiet and warmth to any setting. Because it is an absorptive fabric, carpet reduces sound levels and makes a noisy room more quiet. Carpet also acts as insulation. It helps keep rooms warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. So carpeted floors are good in any climate. (more…)

I recently looked at a new carpet installed throughout a two-story, four-bedroom home, where the owner had complained she found loose tufts (carpet yarns) all over the house after she vacuumed. She had saved several dozen tufts for me to look at.

There are several reasons why loose tufts appear on a carpet. The causes could be manufacturing, installation, or in-home related. My job as a flooring inspector is to eliminate possibilities and discover the true reason for this complaint.

The owner has a cat. The loose tufts were in good condition — they did not look like the cat had clawed them. I used an ultraviolet light to check for cat urine: negative. I did not smell any urine, either.

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Meet Your Flooring Expert

Glenn Revere is a nationally recognized Carpet Inspector who has dedicated his life to the study, maintenance, and sales of carpets. He specializes in carpet, laminate, hardwood, and engineered flooring. Glenn consults for individuals, manufacturers, and installers.